Salvatore Aiello (1946-1995) was an American dancer, choreographer, and director of the North Carolina Dance Theater. The Salvatore Aiello papers hold programs, newspaper clippings, press releases, and contracts relating to Aiello’s dance career between 1952 and 1990.

Biographical/historical information

Salvatore Aiello (1946-1995) was an American dancer, choreographer, and director of the North Carolina Dance Theater. Aiello began dancing at the age of 7 in his home town of Herkimer, New York. He joined the Tri-City Ballet Guild in Boston in the early 1960s, and danced with several companies throughout his career, including the Joffrey Ballet, the Hamburg State Opera, and the Eglevsky Ballet. From 1971 to 1979 he was a principal dancer, ballet master, and associate director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Aiello joined the North Carolina Dance Theater in 1978 and danced and served as director there until his death in 1995.

Scope and arrangement

The Salvatore Aiello papers hold programs, newspaper clippings, press releases, and contracts relating to Aiello’s dance career between 1952 and 1990. The collection documents Aiello’s early career, from high school through college, and his work with specific dance companies.

Aiello’s early career as a dancer, particularly his membership in the Tri-City Ballet Guild in Boston, is well represented through programs, articles, and Actor’s Equity Association contracts. Articles, clippings, and press releases announcing his scholarships document his success as early as high school. Programs for early theater productions that Aiello danced in include Kiss Me, Kate; Guys and Dolls; Oklahoma!; and Finian’s Rainbow.

This collection holds programs and newspaper clippings relating to Aiello’s work with the American Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, Donald McKayle and Company, Eglevsky Ballet, the Hamburg Ballet (with John Neumeier), the Harkness Ballet Company, the Joffrey Ballet, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of dance company, with "Early Years" preceding the companies.